Egypt renewed efforts for a hostage deal Thursday as the United States and 17 other nations released a joint statement calling on Hamas to free the remaining 133 hostages.
“The fate of the hostages and the civilian population in Gaza, who are protected under international law, is of international concern,” the 18 nations stated, adding that those held “include our own citizens.”
“We call for the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas in Gaza now for over 200 days,” the nations stated.
Senior Hamas leader Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters that Hamas would not be influenced by the statement and said the United States needs to force Israel to end its aggression.
“The ball now is in the American court,” said Abu Zuhri.
It’s the first time that these countries have banded together to form a united front since the hostages were seized during Hamas’s invasion of Israel on October 7. The step comes as Israel prepares for a major military operation in Rafah and after Hamas released a video on Wednesday showing that one of the captives, an Israeli-American citizen, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, was alive.
According to KAN News, the war cabinet met Thursday to discuss a new proposal for a deal and authorized an Israeli delegation to meet with Egyptian negotiators, to discuss the potential of a deal. The Egyptians are likely to arrive in Israel on Friday for talks.
Constant meetings for hostage release
Egyptian, Israeli, and US officials held in-person and remote meetings on Wednesday in an attempt to arrive at concessions that would revive a deal for a six-week pause to the war in exchange for the release of 40 of the captives.
Among the sticking points has been Hamas’s insistence on a permanent ceasefire. IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and head of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) Ronen Bar were in Egypt on Wednesday for such talks.
According to KAN, Hamas does not want to meet the demand for 40 live hostages including women, the elderly, the sick, wounded, and infirm. The debate is now around whether to do a lesser deal, possibly for only 20 live hostages.
A senior US administration official told reporters in Washington that Hamas had rejected that initial deal and that efforts were now underway for another agreement.
Hamas leaders on the outside say all sorts of things, but the decision-makers are inside Gaza, living deep underground and holding the hostages, the official said.
“The core truth is there’s a deal on the table. It meets nearly all of the demands that Hamas has had, including in key elements, one of which I just spoke with,” the official said. “And what they need to do is release the vulnerable category of hostages to get things moving.’”
Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin, Hersh’s parents, said, “We are hopeful and prayerful that this is the beginning of a galvanizing force of these countries who are going to continue going forward and shout in a loud unified way that they are not stopping until all of these hostages come home.”
The Hostages and Families Forum issued a response to the joint statement, saying: “We welcome the statement of the world leaders calling for the immediate release of all the hostages, which puts their issue at the top of the world’s priorities, and call on other leaders to join this call.
“The statement is the result of hard work carried out by the families of the abductees in recent months, in front of decision-makers from all over the world, with the aim of bringing all of them home, those who are alive for rehabilitation and the murdered for burial.
“We call for the immediate release of all the abductees that have been held by Hamas in Gaza for over 200 days. They include our citizens. The fate of the abductees and the civilian population in Gaza, protected under international law, is of international concern.
“We will emphasize that the pending deal for the release of the hostages will lead to an immediate and prolonged ceasefire in Gaza, which will facilitate the introduction of necessary humanitarian aid to be provided throughout Gaza and lead to a reliable end to hostilities. The residents of Gaza will be able to return to their homes and lands with preliminary preparations that will ensure protection under humanitarian conditions.”
The statement was signed by leaders from the United States, Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Thailand, and the United Kingdom.
According to the statement, the leaders said they emphasized the deal on the table that would bring an immediate and prolonged ceasefire, facilitate a surge of necessary humanitarian assistance, and lead to a credible end of hostilities.
“Gazans would be able to return to their homes and their lands with preparations beforehand to ensure shelter and humanitarian provisions,” according to the statement.
It was issued a day after President Joe Biden met in the Oval Office with former hostage Abigail Edan, a four-year-old American girl who had been captured after seeing her parents slain by Hamas fighters.
She played in the Oval Office and crawled under the president’s Resolute desk, the official said.
US officials are analyzing the video of American hostage Hersh Golberg-Polin, which was released on Tuesday, the official said.
Israeli officials did not immediately confirm or comment on the offer detailed in the statement.
Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer told reporters when asked about hostage diplomacy that “it is Hamas that is dragging its feet” on an agreement.
“It is Hamas that continues to walk away from the table. It is Hamas that refuses to let our people go. They must be let go right now,” he said.
The fighting in the Gaza Strip continues because Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, is unwilling to release the hostages detained in Gaza captivity, Israeli media quoted a US official as saying.
The official further stated the US had indications that a hostage deal could advance but was unsure due to mixed messages from Hamas leaders abroad and those in Gaza, according to the reports.
The source reportedly blamed Hamas for the difficulties encountered in the talks and, specifically, Sinwar for refusing the last proposition. The source also noted that "Sinwar will pay the price for his actions," according to Israeli media.